Breakdown of Il a franchi la montagne en une heure.
une
a / an (feminine)
il
he
avoir
to have
la montagne
the mountain
l'heure
the hour / o'clock (f)
en
in (duration of completion)
franchir
to cross (an obstacle or boundary)
Questions & Answers about Il a franchi la montagne en une heure.
Why does this sentence use en une heure instead of dans une heure?
Because en is used to express the duration of an action—how long it takes to complete it. He spent exactly one hour crossing the mountain. If the sentence used dans, like Il va franchir la montagne dans une heure, it would mean the action starts one hour from now (He will cross the mountain in an hour).
Could I use traversé instead of franchi to mean 'crossed'?
You could, but franchir adds a great specific nuance here. Traverser just means 'to cross' from one side to another (like a street or a field). Franchir implies crossing over an obstacle, a boundary, or a difficult passage. Since a mountain is a massive physical obstacle, franchir is the perfect verb choice.
Is franchi an irregular past participle?
No, it is completely regular! It comes from the verb franchir, which is a standard -ir verb. To form the past participle for regular -ir verbs in the passé composé, you simply drop the final -r, which leaves you with franchi.
Are there any liaisons when pronouncing en une heure?
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